Papua New Guinea is embarking on its first national forest inventory (NFI) under the arrangements for reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD)+. The inventory will include not only activities for measuring timber volume and estimating carbon stocks and greenhouse gas emissions but also, significantly, a protocol for the first survey of the nation’s forest biodiversity.

The combined inventory will make it possible to assess the trade-offs between protecting biodiversity and reducing emissions, in order to promote sustainable forest management and improve local forest community livelihoods.

The data produced by Papua New Guinea’s NFI will be instrumental in developing sound government policies to sustainably manage the nation’s biodiverse forest heritage, on which most of the nation’s population depends, for the benefit of present and future generations.

Honduras, in Central America is home to some eight million people. Agriculture is the main source of income for many families. The country is also highly susceptible to adverse natural events such as hurricanes and droughts. Measures to mitigate the impact of these shocks are focused on strengthening the adaptation capacity of households. Lempira and El Paraíso are two departments where a success story of sustainable agriculture is in place. The Quesungual system – which has received strong community backing – has increased food production and stabilized food security. It has helped rehabilitate entire agro-ecosystems and stem soil erosion.

Some 40,000 delegates from 195 countries, including heads of state and prominent figures in the fight against climate change, will gather in Paris 30 November – 11 December for the 21st Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention Climate Change (COP21).

The Paris climate conference aims to produce a legally binding agreement to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change. Climate change threatens to derail efforts to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger, with the heaviest effects being felt by the poor -- including millions of small-scale farmers -- who have contributed least to the problem.

Agriculture, forestry and fisheries hold great potential to be a transformational force in the global response to climate change, provided that the international community initiates a shift towards food systems that are more resilient, more productive, and more sustainable.

In this edition of Hungry Planet, at EXPO 2015 in Milan the Austria "pavilion" is actually a forest– cool, calm and refreshing; in São Tomé, consumer demand for organic chocolate is helping save one of the world's most threatened environments; and in Nepal, aid workers struggle to reach the most isolated and worst hit communities.

The first regional REDD+ Academy for Latin America and the Caribbean was held in Argentina from October 5-10, 2015. Over 45 representatives from government, civil society and indigenous peoples from 12 UN-REDD partner countries from the region participated in the Training of Trainers (ToT) workshop, which aimed to provide participants with knowledge and training methodologies to be used for REDD+ capacity building processes in their countries.